Sajid Javid has been widely mocked for his strange description of the North of England as “north England”. The phrase was soon trending on Twitter after Javid shared a photo of himself, Dominic Raab and Liz Truss on their way to Sunderland for a cabinet meeting on Brexit:
So @sajidjavid is off to "north England", as nobody calls it https://t.co/4csm47aBJw
— Will Black 🍓🍄🚀 (@WillBlackWriter) January 31, 2020
Some approached the gaffe with satirical humour:
https://twitter.com/Chapakiin/status/1223257944864755713?s=20
https://twitter.com/SpillerOfTea/status/1223286275618353157?s=20
https://twitter.com/duncanpoundcake/status/1223311587475369989?s=20
Others, meanwhile, were more directly critical:
North England?
Unless you're bringing a train full of cash, we're not interested mate. You can piss off back to South England at your earliest convenience. https://t.co/EyiUh3nPbr
— Jonny McSwaggerton (@RuG_TheMunchies) January 31, 2020
Maybe we should take the name"North England" and use it to ask the independence movement in Scotland to let us join them! Independence from Westminster for Scotland and North England! 😀 https://t.co/Re29FHI63F
— steve brindle: Still Hate Thatcher (@AllooCharas) January 31, 2020
The overlords travel up north to collect the tithe and give it to wealthy Tory voters. https://t.co/erIE1zFiei
— Immigrant Dr. Humbug (@ToruOkada69) January 31, 2020
The criticism followed the Tories as they ventured north, too.
Boris Johnson, for example, was heckled as he arrived at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland for the meeting. Journalism student Owen Valente filmed the moment Johnson arrived and told the PA news agency he was met with chants of “Boris you’re not welcome here” and “Tory cuts not welcome here”:
EXCLUSIVE: PM Boris Johnson arrives at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland for a day of historic Brexit meetings. Video by @Niamhyyy99 and @owen_valente pic.twitter.com/6fu0XbEBEv
— SRNews (@SRNewsNow) January 31, 2020
Brexit may be happening, but that doesn’t mean the Conservative Party is suddenly in touch with northern England. And the response Javid received on Twitter was a perfect example of that.
Featured image and additional content via Press Association
